Two men facing prison shed their public defenders in an attempt to test Washington’s marijuana law.

By Kevin Taylor

Markwart didnâeuro;™t sell to him because the detective didnâeuro;™t have the proper documentation showing he could legally use medical marijuana. Still, the Quad Cities Drug Task Force had enough evidence through the use of a confidential informant to arrest Markwart, an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana who sold to 15 patients, mainly college students.

Charles Shaw’s Exile Nation aims to be a complete, 40-year oral history of the War on Drugs.

By Joseph Haeger

Armed with a creative writing degree from Boston University, Shaw has taken aim at what put him behind bars: the War on Drugs. His book (subtitled “Drugs, Prisons, Politics and Spirituality”) is available online at Reality Sandwich and in print next year through Counterpoint/ Soft Skull Press.

A serious effort to legalize marijuana kicks off.

By Nicholas Deshais

Earlier this month, the Global Commission on Drug Policy — a 19-member group that includes former presidents and prime ministers of five nations, a previous secretary general of the United Nations and a retired U.S. secretary of state — declared the war a failure.

How a month of memos, votes, raids and a veto killed Washington's — and maybe the nation's — medical marijuana industry.

By Nicholas Deshais

After almost two years of unregulated growth that led to an estimated 40 dispensaries in the county, it took a sweep of raids on Thursday and a swipe of the veto pen on Friday to completely dismantle the county’s booming marketplace for medical pot..

Reefer rally at City Hall and the start of another war.

By Nicholas Deshais and Daniel Walters

On Monday, Ryan Seeley helped organize a group of dispensary owners to go before the Spokane City Council to demand clarification in the state law. Seeley, who co-owns Spokane Indicare, shut his dispensary down Friday after his bank account was frozen, he says.

Some Washington lawmakers want to legalize medical pot dispensaries - just as a judge weighs the first case.

By Nicholas Deshais

Scott Shupe sits jammed in the back row of a crowded Spokane County courtroom. The air’s grown hot and stale, and the din of the courtroom keeps ramping up, as prosecutors, defendants and other attorneys noisily await their turn in front of Superior...

Three measures in Olympia could change the way Washington state looks at pot.

By Nicholas Deshais

Three measures working their way through Olympia right now aim to change the way the state deals with marijuana, including legalizing it, making it easier for sick people to procure it and taxing the hell out of it. The legislation could give Washington the loosest marijuana laws in the nation.

The state wants to tax pot. Dispensary owners don’t really seem to mind.

By Nicholas Deshais

“Medical marijuana is … not exempt from the sales tax,” says Mike Gowrylow, a spokesman for the department. “We were contacted by a medical marijuana dispensary that wanted to know if they should be collecting sales tax.